Tension device for loom shuttles



May 4,1926.

J. LUCAS TENSION DE W ICE FOR LOOM SHUTTLES Filed May 29, 1925 mmvron do/ m rx/mv L 0015 WITNESS ,zframmw Mm J ATTORNEYS Patented May 4, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN LUCAS, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR T LUCASLAMBORN LOOM CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

"TENSION DEVICE FOR LOOM snn'rrmis.

Application filed May 29, 1925. Serial No. 33,592.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN LUoAs, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Savannah, county of Ghatham, State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension Devices for Loom Shuttles, of which the following is a specification.

My" invention relates to loom shuttles and has for its object to provide a novel tension device forsuch shuttles whereby a uniform and constant tension is applied to the shuttle thread and whereby the'combination of the thread with the tension device is elfected in a simple manner. Other objects will appear from the description. hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in'the claims. v

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of the invention without defining its limits, Fig. 1 is a side view of a shuttle with the tension device applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof; Fig. 3 is a side view of the shuttle partly in section; Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 44 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail section on an enlargedscale on the line 55 of Fig. 3; and Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines 6-6 and 77 of Fig. '5. V v I The shuttle comprises the customary casing 10 of suitable form and dimensions in which the bobbin 11 is mounted in any conventional manner; in the illustrated example the'opposite ends of the casing 10 are pyramidal in form and the shuttle is constructed for conveyance over its operative path by means of suitable, inversely reciprocating carriers to which said shuttle is transferred from one to the other at the proper time. It will of course be understood that the tension device is applicable toother types of loom shuttles.

Upon the inside at one end the shuttle is provided with a thickened section 13 in which a passage 14 is formed which inclines outwardly from its inner end a located approximately at the center of the inner surface of the section 13 to its outer end 6 located in the surface 0 of the pyramidal end as shown in Fig. 3. The passage 14' opens in a direction parallel with its axis into a slot 15 which projects upwardly from the passage and merges along a gentle curve into a continuing slot 16 formed in. the section 13 and the surface 0 and diverging or flaring downwardly toward its open end as indicated at 17.

A plate 18 is located, interiorly of the shuttle 10 at the end 12 thereof and is mounted in spaced relation to the inner surface of the section 13 preferably so as to be easily removable at-will; thus as shown in the drawings the plate 18 may be slidably mounted in horizontal guide grooves 19 extending transversely across said shuttle at the end 12. Inorder to positively locate the plate 18 in its operative posit-ion upon the shuttle 10, a suitable stop 18 may be provided for arresting-the sliding movement of said plate in onedirection. The plate 18 is provided with an aperture 20 in axial registry with inner end a of the passage 14, Y

and which opens into a slit 21 projecting upwardly from said aperture and then downwardly in an outward direction and is continued in the form of an upwardly extending slit 22 in close proximity to an outer edge of the plate 18 and having its upper end open; the arrangement is such in surface engagement with the plate 18 I in a generally horizontal direction, said lever normally inclining downwardly from its pivot and extending beneath the aperture 20 when no thread passes out of the shuttle.

To combine the thread at which passes from the bobbin 11 with the tension device a short length of thread is withdrawn from said bobbin and is then passed downwardly in the slit 22 and along the resilient finger 23 and along the flange 24. Continuing,

the thread is passed about the rounded end 25 of the latter and into the slit 21 until it finally is positioned in the aperture 20 of the plate 18. As the thread passes beneath the rounded end 25 and intothe slit 21, it 7.

part thereof which spans the space between the aperture 20 and the end a of the passage 14 as shown in Fig. 5 and accordingly maintains said thread under the proper tension. When the shuttle is properly threaded, the thread cl thus passes from the bobbin 11 through the aperture 20, beneath the lever 26 and through the passage 1% which it leaves at the outer end 6 as shown in Fig. 3. The passage 14 being inclined with respect to the major axis of the shuttle and extending diagonally to its path of travel, the thread Z as it passes from the shuttle is not subjected to any sharp bends tending to strain and break the same; the peripheral surfaces of the ends a and Z) of the passage 14 are rounded to still further reduce the tensional strains upon said thread and to permit it to pass from the shuttle with a minimum of friction. As shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, the bobbin-thread aperture 20 is so dimensioned and located on the plate 18, that it will maintain the thread Z against shifting lengthwise of the lever 26, either toward or away from the pivot 27 thereof; with this nrrangement the relationship of the thread cl and lever 26 is fixed and the tension effect of the latter upon said thread is accordingly constant. The thread (Z, as it unwinds from the bobbin 11, tends to move back and forth along the lever 26, this being due to the conventional method of winding the'thread upon said bobbin. Obviously, if the bobbin-thread is permitted to freely shift toward and away from the pivot 27 of the lever 26, the tensional effect of the latter upon the thread will de crease as the thread approaches the pivot and increase as said thread moves away from said pivot. The varying tension at which the thread (Z, under such conditions, would pass from the shuttle would seriously interfere with the operation of weaving and affeet the quality thereof; such a contingency is positively prevented with the arrangement herein set forth in which the thread is uniformly maintained under a constant tension.

The tension device is simple in construction and efficient in operation and is easily installed in shuttles of either existing or special construction.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1 claim: 7

1. A shuttle comprising a casing, a bobbin mounted therein, a tension lever movably mounted in said casingin transverse relation to the bobbin-thread as it passes from the bobbin and operating by gravity to place said bobbin-thread under tension, and means whereby said thread is maintained against shifting lengthwise of said tension lever. r

A shuttle comprising a casing, a bobbin mounted therein, a support located interiorly of said casing, a tension lever pivotally mounted on said support in transverse relation to the path of the bobbin thread as it passes from the bobbin and operating by gravity to place said bobbin thread under tension, and means on said support whereby said thread is maintained against shifting lengthwise of said tension lever.

A shuttle comprising a casing, having therein, an exit passage for the bobbin thread located at one end of the casing, a

transverse plate located'in said casing and provided with an aperture through which said bobbin thread passes before it reaches said exit passage, and a tension lever pivoted on said plate and extending transverseiy, across the thread as it passes from said aperture to said passage, and operating by gravity to place said thread under tension, said aperture being dimensioned to maintain said thread against shifting lengthwise of said lever.

4. A shuttle comprising a casing, a bobbin mounted therein, a plate at one end of said casing having a bobbin thread aperture and a continuing slit opening outwardly, an end wall forming part of said casing at said end and provided with a passage having an end spaced from said aperture, said passage communicating along its length with a slot having a flaring open end and a tension lever pivoted to said plate in surface engagement therewith and arranged to rest upon that part of the bobbin thread which spans the space between said aperture and passage end, said bobbin thread aperture being dimensioned to maintain said thread against shifting lengthwise of said lever.

5. A shuttle comprising a casing, a bobbin mounted therein, an end wall at one end having an exit passage for the bobbin thread, a plate slidably mounted in said casing in spaced relation to said end wall and provided with a bobbin thread aperture and a continuing slit extending along a sinuous path and terminating in an upright open slit, a flange on said plate extending lever pivoted to said plate adjacent to said end of said passage, said bobbin thread apround end and extending in surface engageert-ure being dimensioned to maintain said ment with said plate transversely to said thread against shifting lengthwise of said 10 casing, said lever being arranged to place lever.

said bobbin thread under tension by resting In testimony whereof I have hereunto set upon that part thereof which spans the my hand.

space between the aperture and the inner JONATHAN LUCAS. 

